| Wheely | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yusry Abdul Halim |
| Produced by | Norman Abdul Halim |
Production companies | Kartun Studios KRU Studios |
| Distributed by | Primeworks Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Countries | Malaysia Djibouti Maldives Brunei |
| Languages | Malay English |
| Budget | 10,000,000 Malaysian ringgit [1] |
| Box office | $1,340,799 |
Wheely, also released as Wheely: Fast and Hilarious, is a 2018 Malaysian English-language animated comedy film written and directed by Yusry Abd Halim as his first animated film. [2] [3] It was released in Malaysia on 16 August 2018.
After a fierce crash, Wheely is demoted from a 3-time rookie racer to a downtown Taxi with a mountain of debt and a bruised ego. The cause of the accident is no other than Putt Putt, his philosophical/Feng Shui practitioner fan who becomes his best friend. Nothing dire happens until Wheely discovers Bella, a wealthy supermodel. Stuff gets odd when she reveals she has a boyfriend. Luckily for Wheely, Bella approves his “Street smart, ghetto like and funny-guy” personality. However, the 2 are prevented from interacting and learning more about each other as Ben, her stuck-up boyfriend, gets in the way. Despite the events, Wheely's situation gets tedious when Bella gets "car-napped" by Kaiser, a monstrous 18-wheeler truck who started a gang interfering with the world.
Yusry Abdul Halim came up with the idea for the film in 2014 under the name of KL Taxi. But when we it get marketed the internationally buyers did not get the "KL" name. So Yusry immediately changed the title to Wheely.
His brother Norman added that the car photos went through various inspirations for the character designs, with the concept being expanded on the storyline. “We got two British writers who sneaked into the KRU Creative studios in Ipoh to work on the script but we eventually realized that the humour and sensibilities don't fit intro our movie. We wanted the movie to be have American charm rather than British, which explains why Wheely is not red and white like regular taxis in Malaysia “Yes but you know, back in the 80's our taxis were yellow and black, so it’s still Malaysian in that sense,” said Norman. With half of the animation handled at Invector Heads studio in India, KRU produced stereoscopic 3D version exclusive for Russia.
Wheely was released in Malaysia on 16 August 2018, [3] and had a worldwide gross of $1,340,799, the highest grossing country being Poland with $348,806. [4]
Wheely: Fast and Hilarious was also released in Australian theatres on November 9, 2018, distributed by Odin Eye's Entertainment alongside Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Critically, the film received negative reviews, with critics calling it a mockbuster of Pixar Animation Studios's film Cars . [5] [2] [6] [7] But, according to Norman Abdul Halim, the movie is not a rip-off of Cars: "it has its own unique characters, designs, plot, storyline and flavour."